NTSA clamps school van with tampered acceleration peddle meant to save fuel

Pupils of St Georges Primary School in Nairobi are lucky after a pedestrian raised an alarm over a faulty school van they have been using.

The vehicle has its acceleration peddle deliberately tampered with.

Below the acceleration, there is a nail that has been welded to prevent the driver from pressing down the peddle.

According to initial reports, the nail is meant to prevent the driver from pushing down the acceleration to save fuel.

The vehicle is owned by a businessman who has been contracted by St Georges Primary School to provide transport.

A pedestrian accidentally noticed the alteration when the vehicle stalled along State House Road on Friday 13th.

The van stalled for lack of fuel and several pedestrians helped push it off the road.

After noticing the alteration which can result in fatal accidents, one of the pedestrians reported the issue to NTSA Director General George Njao.

Njao ordered his officers to take action and on Tuesday afternoon, they did.

“NTSA has towed the vehicle to Kilimani Police Station. We found it parked at Nairobi Primary School. It's undergoing inspection and we found the said nail. We will arrest the owner and charge him in court,” said an NTSA officer privy to the matter.

The pedestrian who reported the incident to NTSA commented to Njao for quick action.

“It may seem a small matter but this was a fatal accident waiting to happen. I felt bad seeing the young girls heading home sitting in the faulty Van. I asked the driver why he had not put in enough fuel and he said the owner only fuels Sh2,000 and it’s supposed to last for 2 days,” said the heartbroken man.